Abhijit Bhaduri

If you think it is hard to manage underperforming employees then believe me, it is much more demanding to manage a star employee. The most important element of managing the star is to not treat the employee in a manner that alienates the rest of the team. You need to be especially sensitive to the dynamics within the team. Don't play favorites. That can really alienate the others.

Help the star develop the skills they will need - the most important one is to help the person build deep relationships across the team. If someone from the team has skills that the star player needs to learn, it can work wonders for the two to be paired up. Give the star the necessary space to discover their own style, while staying accountable for the end-results.

If you are a star employee, what kind of a leadership style has helped you to flourish? What kind of managers have brought out the best in you? What were the important lessons your managers taught you? Thank you for sharing your ideas in the comments.

Read more: https://lnkd.in/fVapRRX
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3 QUALITIES THAT 500+ CEOs SHARE

What does it take to succeed in the corner office? That is just the question Adam Bryant explored in his column for New York Times. He just penned his last column. This time he has tried to find some common qualities that the CEOs shared.
The three qualities are:
1. Curiosity
2. Problem solving - they love challenges.
3. Try to succeed in the present job before thinking of your next gig.

What does it take to lead large teams? The CEOs universally spoke of authenticity. People have to trust you.
Do you agree?

HOW TO HANDLE SETBACKS

Adam Grant is the author of 'GIVE AND TAKE', 'ORIGINALS', 'OPTION B'; Wharton professor; NYT writer. His research shows that in most failures, relationships play a big part. It could mean a setback to you or to the other person and to the relationship. Yes, the relationship is really the third party in the equation. It is invisible and hence we tend to think of only ourselves or the others when we have to ascribe blame.

Blaming someone else and lashing out in anger is ineffective. It stops us from learning. Taking all the blame for the setback and wallowing in self-pity makes us weak and lowers our confidence. It is not and either or situation. It is both together. So both parties (if others are part of the reason for the setback) involved must take a hard look at the relationship and ask, “How can we work on this RELATIONSHIP together.“

If the reason for failure does not involve someone else, then look at it as an opportunity to build self-awareness and learn from it.
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Do you ascribe majority of the setbacks in your life to yourself or to the people around? How have you dealt with it? Do leave your views in the comments.

9 FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS YOU CAN ASK IN INTERVIEWS

According to a new research by Harvard Business School professors Alison Wood Brooks, Karen Huang, Michael Yeomans, Julia Minson, and @Francesca Gino, people who ask follow-up questions are perceived as higher in responsiveness, an interpersonal construct that captures listening, understanding, validation, and care.

@Vasundhara Sawhney editor of Harvard Business Review Ascend, asked me for some follow-up questions successful candidates ask. There were 9 that I have been asked most often. You can read the article here https://lnkd.in/faDUySG

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What are the best questions some candidate has asked you during a job interview? What is the best follow-up question you have asked? Thanks for leaving your responses below.

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TIPS FOR INTERVIEWERS

Interviewing is a skill. There is enough research done that you can use, to improve your skills as an interviewer.

The basic purpose of an interview is to predict which candidate is most likely to meet the demands of the role. Predictions are easy. Getting the prediction right is hard.

Tip: Asking every candidate the same question can help you to compare responses. This is especially useful when the candidate has to come up with a creative response - but not for questions that have one correct response. That is easy to game.

SKILL & WILL
Assess whether the candidate has the necessary skill to do the job. Most interviewers focus on this. Then assess whether the person will enjoy facing the challenges that this job offers.

I wrote a book that is titled: DON’T HIRE THE BEST. Have you read it ? Did you find the book useful? Love to hear from you.

How can leaders build a culture of innovation? In this conversation with Eric Schmidt in the podcast by Reid Hoffman some clear ideas emerge.
1. Ideas unfold chaotically. The best managers manage the chaos.
2. A company is a system. Understand it.
3. Encourage insubordination. Create high speed high IQ conversations.
4. Retain the college dorm feel. Ideas come from networks - not individuals.
5. Make decisions quickly. The decision to buy YouTube was made in 10 days.
6. Hiring the right people is critical. Look for people who persist. And those who are creative.

Check out the podcast: Masters of Scale.

PLATFORMING THE FUTURE

Do you listen to podcasts? I love them. I was listening to Benedict Evans of a16z talking to Tim O‘Reilly about his new book WTF. That is shorthand for Whats The Future and anything else you thought of. The subtitle says “Watch the future and why it’s up to us“.

It opens with a simple explanation of how platforms work. Traditional taxi companies often think that if only they had the app they would be able to compete. The app is only a very small part of the business and it works because the demand for taxis is met by a supplier of people who are bringing their own cars to act as cabs. To build a platform business the biggest lesson I learned was that you have to think not just of yourself but of the entire ecosystem.

I believe the same thing will happen in the world of employment stop the biggest companies will become platforms where people will bring their talent to be able to perform jobs. This will need a whole new way of working. Would you agree?

https://lnkd.in/gDvF6ES